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Britain is sleepwalking into a mental health crisis as the government struggles to deal with the monumental effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Health experts and charities have told the Observer The coming winter will devastate the mental well-being of the nation, as the uncertainty, fear, isolation, and loneliness of confinement are exacerbated by the colder and darkest months ahead.
In England, the Center for Mental Health has predicted that up to 10 million people, almost a fifth of the population, will need mental health support as a direct consequence of Covid-19, and 1.5 million of these are expected to be children. and young. under 18 years of age. The effect on patients with pre-existing mental health problems and those from disadvantaged backgrounds is even greater, painting a grim picture for those already suffering from it.
Professor Roshan das Nair, a clinical psychologist at the Institute of Mental Health, is “deeply concerned” that the country can cope with the coming crisis.
“The large number of people who develop problems, and some may not be fully developed or not reaching the threshold for diagnosis, will increase,” he said. “What this means for the health service, when we have long waiting lists at best, is a real concern. How are we going to cope with the increase in demand in the coming months? “
Children of primary school age are considered especially vulnerable to anxiety and emotional and behavioral problems. Polly Waite, co-author of an Oxford University study on the health of children and adolescents during the pandemic, revealed that the number of children who would reach the threshold for clinical diagnosis had increased by 35% during the pandemic.
“That is not the only alarming figure,” Waite said. “We know that children from low-income families are two and a half times more likely to suffer from mental health problems and this inequality persisted throughout the confinement. There is a domino effect: high family stress in the coming months around finances, work, social restrictions, uncertainty; all of this poses a great risk to children’s emotional and mental safety, as well as their anxieties around peer relationships in schools, exams and learning. “
Talking with him ObserverShadow health minister Rosena Allin-Khan accused the government of being “asleep at the wheel” and playing “political football” with what was undoubtedly a multi-party problem.
“My freedom of information request revealed that the secretary of state did not meet with a single mental health organization in the first three months. [of the pandemic]. There is not a single group that is not affected: mental illness affects people regardless of their class, gender, ethnicity or socioeconomic origin. “
Allin-Khan, who also works as an ER doctor, proposed a “care for caregivers” package to protect the mental health of three million frontline NHS and care workers, a group that has been especially susceptible to stress, burnout, depression and postpartum. traumatic stress disorder. The policy was rejected by conservatives, in a move Allin-Khan described as “inconceivable.”
He added: “People face great uncertainty for extended periods without a coherent government plan as to when they can expect to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and that uncertainty creates anxiety.”
In the Commons earlier this month, Nadine Dorries, the mental health minister, said the government had pledged to commit “an additional £ 2.3 billion in funding for mental health services.” However, this figure was short of the £ 2.6 billion required by the NHS’s five-year national mental health plan, which was conceived before the pandemic.
With the emergence of a global crisis in mental health, the World Health Organization warns that depression and anxiety could increase susceptibility to infection and transmission of the virus, and affect the way nations respond and recover. There is also evidence to suggest that poor mental health affects adherence to social distancing and the use of masks, and could affect acceptance of a vaccine.
“It’s the people who are already discriminated against or who are already vulnerable who will have the hardest time coping now and in the winter,” said Geoff Hayes, head of health policy and influencer at mental health charity Mind. “There is great concern that as hospital wards start to fill up again and Covid takes precedence, patients with severe mental health will suffer.”
He wants lessons to be learned from the first lockdown, when 2,500 patients with serious mental health problems were discharged in March to free up room in the room for Covid cases.
“This is an opportunity for the government to look at this relatively small group of people that we know are highly vulnerable and provide them with a package of care. Covid has greatly damaged the progress of mental health service delivery and all of a sudden there is no money to do the things promised. “
The Samaritans charity has already received more than a million calls during the pandemic, a quarter of them asking for help related to the coronavirus. A spokesperson said that “as social constraints and uncertainty continue, it is essential that we take care of our own mental health and that of others, continuing to control each other and sharing how we have been feeling.”
Doing good for others, keeping an eye on neighbors, and staying in touch with friends and family has been shown to have strong positive mental health benefits, along with daily exercise and positive mental rethinking, taking the “half glass” approach. full”. Professor Das Nair recommended that a public health campaign encouraging these behaviors in the coming months would have a significant effect in reducing the general feeling of pessimism. “We have to prevent people from reaching a stage where they feel mental health problems, because doing things that are positively rewarding is really helpful in improving people’s well-being,” he said.
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted at 116 123, Or email [email protected] or [email protected]
